A monthly report from anti-piracy watchdog ReCAAP has revealed that the Singapore Strait (SS) witnessed 11 piracy and armed robbery incidents, including ten actual and one attempted, during April this year.

According to ReCAAP, of the total 17 incidents reported in Asia, two were piracy incidents while 14 were deemed as armed robbery against ships. The remaining one was a failed attempt.

Most of these incidents occurred onboard vessels underway in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore (SOMS).

Two piracy occurrences were recorded in the South China Sea; one involved the siphoning of ship fuel from Dongfang Glory and the other was a petty theft incident onboard a bulk carrier.

Of the 14 robberies onboard ships, ten took place while the ships were travelling through the SOMS, and four others on vessels anchored or berthed at ports and anchorages in Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam.

ReCAAP stated that most of the incidents reported in SS took place when the vessels were in the eastbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS).

The watchdog said that nine of the 11 incidents occurred in the eastbound lane, while the other two incidents were in the westbound lane.

Previously, ReCAAP’s quarterly report for 2015 revealed an increase of reported incidents to 38 from the lowest of 29 incidents occurred during the same period in 2013.

It said that 38 incidents occurred during the period, where four were classed as piracy and the remaining 34 as robberies.